Course

International Child Law - LAWS8104

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: Academic Program must be 9200 or 9210 or 9230 or 5740 or 9220 or 5750 or 9211 or 5211.

Equivalent: JURD7404

Excluded: JURD7404

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

Over the past ten years the concept of children's rights has received a greater amount of attention in legal discourse. Internationally, incidents of child labour, child sexual exploitation and child abductions appear to be increasing at an exponential rate. In many nations of the Western world, high suicide rates amongst teens, the growth of the child prostitution industry, and a higher number of young offenders accused of violent crimes have impacted all our communities. In the South and in many countries in transition the use of child soldiers, a high child mortality rate and the widespread trafficking of young people seem to continuously expanding their reach. Jurisprudence developing from the decisions of domestic courts, administrative tribunals and within international fora have provided insights into policy issues while at the same time offering contradictory messages on the legal responsibility and status of children. Because of this, there is a need to better understand the current status of the law and what your role may be - as lawyers, advocates or concerned members of civil society - in ensuring that the rights of all citizens are respected, regardless of their age. It is often said that the phrase "children's rights" is a slogan in search of a definition. This course will attempt to find its meaning by surveying the history and legal development of children's rights internationally.

LLM Specialisation

Course Objectives

  • Knowledge of the main legal concepts and principles of international child law.
  • Explain the meaning of legal concepts, doctrines and principles studied.
  • Analyse the primary sources of international child law.
  • Demonstrate an ethical understanding of the nature of international child law and be aware of on-going and future issues in this area.
  • Demonstrate ability to think critically and to justify ideas in a reasoned manner.

Assessment

Research Essay 80%
Class Participation 20%

Course Texts

International Child Law, 2nd edition by Trevor Buck (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2011).

Resources

A full up-to-date reading list will be provided in the course outline.
Law Books

Study Levels

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